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Hookworms recently revealed that with ‘Microshift’, they wanted “to make a record that when we played it would be euphoric.” This may seem like a curveball, especially after the turmoil Hookworms have faced over the past couple of years with the flooding of their recording studio and other personal issues that arose around the time.

However, with lead single ‘Negative Space’, this may just be the cathartic release they need. A sprawling LCD Soundsystem-esque dance-punk odyssey, the instrumentation of ecstatic synths and jubilant vocals on ‘Negative Space’ make for some of Hookworms’ best work to date. The band’s krautrock roots also still remain. With ‘Static Resistance’, which bolsters a flamboyant and exuberant performance from MJ, the Herculean ‘Ullswater’ and the post-punk ‘Boxing Day’ all exhibit the outfit’s penchant for creating intricate and driving psych-rock.

Bubbling into ‘The Soft Season’, a serene display of luscious synthesisers, Hookworms pass through the cosmos with the eight-minute ‘Opener’. The glittery samples of ‘Each Time We Pass’ reach out and spread until they unfold in a sea of technicolour, while ‘Reunion’ has Hookworms going all Blade Runner with a track that could easily pass as an ode to Vangelis’ ‘Love Theme’. This record is truly marvellous.

Reborn through anguish, Hookworms are alive and otherworldly as ever.

8/10

Words: Liam Egan

Dig it? Dig deeper: LCD Soundsystem, Ulrika Spacek, The Moonlandingz

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